From: Judith Bandsma 16 Sep 94 08:00
To : Richard Rodriguez
Subj: Re: abortion
-=> Quoting Richard Rodriguez to Judith Bandsma <=-
My major point was that to be credible, he should at least get
the facts straight. You make no points at all arguing from
stupidity....and lose a lot of ground with the otherwise
undecided.
As for pro-CHOICE, the only person I can make ANY choice for in
this matter is myself. And I am the only one who will have to
answer for any action I take. I have faced this choice from
medical necessity BEFORE Roe v. Wade. I know what goes into
making the choice, the emotional turmoil of knowing that what
is growing in your body may NOT be strictly human after all. Or
that if you carry to term you will definitely deliver something
that is already dead. I made the decision to go ahead in spite
of the doctors' advice. I bankrupted MY family (nuclear-type),
ruined my health AND the child died anyway. (And 3 before him
to the same cause). If I had had a CHOICE in the matter, I
would have had a tubal ligation much sooner and not had to face
this 4 times. But that CHOICE was never allowed me because, in
the state I lived, all requests for sterilization had to be
approved by a panel of (male) doctors and they would not
approve it if you were under 30 and had less than 3 living
children. The medical consequences were NEVER a part of their
deliberations if those 2 things were the case.
Having had my choices made for me for so long when it came to
reproductive health, I cannot and will not lend my voice to
making the choices for others. When women are finally free to
make a REAL choice without fear of condemnation or harrassment,
I think you will then find that things will change.
--- Blue Wave/RA v2.12 [NR]
* Origin: StoneHenge BBS (803)-760-1241,,11 (1:372/95)